Bluey

Well folks, I’m sitting here on a gorgeous Sunday night wiping tears out of my eyes because of some Australian cartoon dogs. You know what that means: a new Bluey episode is upon us, and boy is this one a doozy. Today, us fans got the longest, most emotional episode yet. And I was so touched by it that I had to crank this out real quick, just a quick list of impressions I had while watching this masterpiece.

This post does contain major spoilers for the new episode, “The Sign”, which is currently streaming on Disney+.

Alright, the impressions:

• 28 minutes, about 20 minutes longer than an average episode! Part of the magic of the show is what it can do in such a short amount of time. I mean, look at “Onesies”, which builds a whole backstory, presumably spanning years, entirely through subtext and visual storytelling, all in eight minutes. But the half-hour format suits it impressively well! The wider canvas allows them to create a bigger system of the setups and payoffs the series is known for.
• Ah, the opening shot of the moving sign right in front of the house, the same shot that ended the previous episode, the delightful “Ghostbasket”. Still put a pit in my heart.
• Great to see an update on the Frisky and Radd story. “Double Babysitter” is one of the most thoroughly enjoyable episodes of the show, and their romance is so much fun. Even with the complications they experience in “The Sign”, it’s so fantastic to see them coming together again.
• A surprising amount of more adult-oriented jokes in this one (though still well within the bounds of the TV-Y rating). “We used to come up here to, uh, think” is pretty fantastic.
• Seeing Chili being conflicted was very relatable. She’s just as confused as Bluey is about this and it’s kind of beautiful to see.
• Muffin being Muffin. Never change.
• Speaking of “Onesies”, OH MY GOSH BRANDY IS PREGNANT. Why do I feel happy for this cartoon dog like she’s a real person?
• The scene showing the empty house with the music over it! That’s poetry! That’s cinema! Amazing.
• “Are we making a mistake?” “Probably. But we’ll make it together.”
• The ending made me genuinely cry. Bandit pulling off the “SOLD” sticker, Chili tackling him, all of them sobbing for joy. What an ending. I don’t think this is the last episode. But if it is, it’s one of the best finales I’ve ever seen.

I have so many more words that I can’t possibly type (I’m writing this on my phone and my fingers hurt). Just watch the episode. Let it wash over you. Be glad we live in a time when this show exists and we can access it easily. How beautiful.